


Sell A Coward

by Ryomio



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Auction, Blow Jobs, Chinese Character, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Porn With Plot, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Sexual Tension, Smut, Submissive Character, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24410671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryomio/pseuds/Ryomio
Summary: The "Happy Field Orphanage" is a place where dreams come true. A home for the young and the innocent, where children eventually find their happiness. However, on a particularly cold night during December, just as the first snowflakes fall, eighteen-year-old Min's well anticipated adoption day turns out to be something entirely different. Instead of a warm, parental embrace, Min finds himself chained in an auditorium, open for auction as a sex slave.His owner? A ridiculously attractive rich brat, mistaking him for a girl.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 15





	Sell A Coward

The room is dark, the atmosphere heavy. Dim lamp lights are the mere source of brightness in the disclosed space. There are no windows, only gray walls surrounding him. It's getting hard to breathe, as if he's being burned alive. Ze Mingli doesn't want this. He doesn't want to be here, waiting for his unavoidable fate to happen. Whatever comes towards him, he doesn't want it.

"Three thousand! Do I hear three thousand from you, Sir? An acceptable price for such a pretty girl, don't you think?", The overeager host spits into his microphone. The auditorium is filled with elegantly clothed people, young and old. Hungry eyes are staring towards the stage in front of them, some are judging, others simply intrigued. Min's hands are tied behind his back, the only thing he can do is glare in utter confusion at the audience beneath his feet. The little girl on his left that the host points at is shaking uncontrollably. Her hands are trembling and cold sweat glimmers on her forehead. She looks absolutely horrified. "Shiu!", Min hisses at his little sister, as quiet and unnoticeable as he can. "Shiu, don't worry, everything's alright! Do you hear me?" His voice is breaking, uncertainty overwhelming it. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to protect you, okay?"

"Brother...", Ze Shiu whispers back. Her eyes are filled with thick teardrops. They're sliding down her flushed cheeks slowly, resembling a malfunctioning water tab. "I'm scared..."

The stage that they're kneeling on is crowded with children of the 'Happy Field Orphanage', the place Ze Mingli and his two younger siblings grew up in. It's always been a nice, comfortable house, with foster sisters taking care of everyone, raising them, offering warm meals and clean beds every day. Now, however, the very same loving women are looking down at the children in disgust whose hands are cuffed and clothes ragged and filthy. It's nothing like the neat school uniform they normally wear. All orphans were happily eating breakfast together earlier today, what happened?

"Give it back, stupid!", Shiu had said to her twin brother as he took away the last bread on the refractory breakfast table. The time had been eight in the morning. "Seriously, Yubi, you know how much I wanted to eat that! Why do you always have to annoy me?" Ze Yubi's cheeks were stuffed full and a devilish grin had decorated his small face. "S'cuse me, I can't hear a crybaby when it screams like that." He had narrowed his eyes in a naughty manner, waddling the food in front of his twin sister like it's some sort of trophy. 

"You're awful, really!", Shiu had hissed. "I can't believe we're related! Big brother Min, please help me with this idiot!" 

Ze Mingli, a rather scrawny and average young man who just turned eighteen last month, had cracked a caring smile at his younger sister, simply sipping on his regular seven o'clock black tea in silence. For him, his siblings are everything this world can offer. Their reliability and devotion is something he built only by himself, maybe with a little help of manipulation. To be in control of the twins is truly a life he can continue on forever.

But it's doomed to fall apart tonight, just at this moment.

Ze Mingli quickly scans the unfamiliar auction room. His head is dizzy from the smell of heavy perfume and the piercing stares on him, making it hard to remain his conscience. Is this an auction? Is this the basement of the orphanage? How did the director allow these suspicious people in here, anyways? Moreover, why is it him and the children on the stage? No, there surely must be a misunderstanding. One huge, incredibly drastic misunderstanding. Is this an april fools joke? But it's the middle of December!

On the other side of the stage, a few metres away from Min, his best friend Yuan Jinhai gives him an infuriating look. Min's little brother Yubi shivers over to his sibling in fear, brows arched and face pale. What is going on?, Min forms with his lips at Jinhai, but the other immediately shakes his head, eyes wide as if to give him a warning. 

"Aaaand sold! Another one to number 72! Thank you for your cooperation!" The middle-aged host spits out at the crowd again, his announcement breaking through Min's troubled thoughts. Suddenly, a group of muscular men appear behind Shiu's back and grab the little girl by her arms, lifting her up in the air and down the stage.

"Big brother!" Min's sister screeches in absolute terror as the men drag her away with them. Her voice halls through the auditorium like a siren. Downstairs at the audience platform, an old man in an expensive looking suit is waiting for her with a nasty grin on his lips. He's nowhere near attractive, with gold teeth flashing out of his mouth and silver rings shining on his short, sausage-formed fingers. In his hands, he holds a silver cane.

The host giggles as Shiu repeatedly screams on top of her lungs. He nonchalantly spreads his arms out, pointing at a bill count on the wall behind the stage. "Now, now, no need to panic, young lady! You've got adopted at an impressively high price! Mr. Yu will surely take good care of you. He's a real gentleman, you know?"

Min's hands are furiously squirming around in his handcuffs. "Where the hell are you taking my sister!", he yells. A grunt comes out of him when he leans forward but is snapped back by the rope ties on his feet. "She's telling you to let her go, you fuckers! Take your hands off! Can't you hear? Let go of my sister!" The audience starts murmuring cynically. As they listen to his aggressive shouts, the level of attention roars up, until someone kicks Ze Mingli from behind and pushes his face down the cold, dusty surface of the stage floor. His cheeks burn and sting because of the strong impact, and for a short second, everything flashes black before his eyes. "Min!", he hears his little brother Ze Yubi cry out from somewhere in worry. "Fucking...let her...go...", Min continues through gritted teeth. The heel pressed against his head pushes Min's face harder against the floor. His neck hurts but he's trapped in the position. The host sighs. "What do we have here? Such a robust and truly tough exemplar! Have no fear, boy, your sister is in good hands."

Before Min has the chance to reply, a loud beep echoes through the auditorium. Shrill and bland. It's an absolutely horrendous sound.

Beep, beep, beep. 

The host turns around his heel and sneakily changes topic, "Congratulations, Orphan Wei Jia sold for two-point-five-thousand to Mr. Zhang! We entrust her in your faithful hands, Sir!" 

From the corner of his eyes, Min watches the muscular men from earlier target a fourteen-year-old, blonde girl called Wei Jia and lead her to an ugly bald man in the crowd who holds up a sign with the number 2,500. Min remembers how he has always helped Wei Jia with her math homework on Thursday evenings during his free time. She's such a sweet girl. As one of the eldest of the orphanage, it's Min's job to watch over the younger ones along with the foster sisters. Wei Jia is like a family member to everyone. However, even Min's best friend Yuan Jinhai, who's about the same age as him, remains completely calm as the girl disappears into the darkness of the audience. 

"Jinhai, isn't she family?", Min yells at him internally. "Do something, for god's sake! You know just as well as me that something is going insanely wrong! This isn't how the adoption ceremony usually goes!"

A young boy behind Min yells out for Wei Jia's name but is immediately punched down at the back of his head, the overwhelming pain shutting him up. That goes for anyone else making any noise of resistance against what the hell was playing out on front of them. Minutes pass, and with each one, another beep sound is heard. Names of orphans are being called out, along with numbers that seem to be their materialistic price. Min barely picks up that at some point, Yubi's name gets called. "Ze Yubi, bought by Mrs. Cao for two-thousand-seven-hundred! How generous!"

His brother is lead down the stage to a woman in an exposing red dress. In contrast to the old, unattractive men sitting around her, she's quite the beauty, has a thin waist and long, ash blonde hair. Her face is full of makeup, however not heavy enough to be considered too much. She greets the boy by fanning her exotic-looking fan. "Lovely...", the woman breathes out slyly, "My men will love such a cute little boy..."

When Min hears Yubi's steps passing him by, he can feel his blood boiling, hot and irritated. He can't move an inch. Surprisingly, though, his deadly glares go unnoticed by the crowd. "Now, everyone, onto the next...!" The host cheers onto his mic, his voice just as eager as it was hours ago. The man pressing Min down suddenly releases his heel on him and lets the host grab into his curly black hair, holding his head up. "The payment for Ze Mingli starts~" His words are loud and sticky on the mic, almost making Min's eardrums burst by the volume.

There are only a couple of people left in the audience, and all of them seem rather uninterested in Min, focusing more on the other younger children. "They may be quite plain looking, but as you can see, this orphan's got one hell of a personality!", the host exclaims. If he has the ability to, Min would love to punch the host in his stupid visage. There's a long ray of silence, no one uttering a single word. Min breathes out in relief when the visibly disappointed host lets go of his hair grip. "How about we start at two-hundred? Come on, people, there must be at least one of you ready to buy!"

The silence continues. As they're about to move on to the next child, a middle-aged man suddenly pushes down his sunglasses, raises his hand and states firmly, "Make it one-fifty and it's a deal."

"Excuse me?" For the first time on this night, the host sounds seriously baffled. Even Ze Mingli can't help but look up at the person whose deep, rough voice is calling out. It's a man around his fifties, with white strands peeking up on his slicked back hair, his beard clean in shape. He looks like someone right out of a FBI movie. The host clears his throat. "Two hundred is the minimum price, dear customer! As you can see, we do not offer-"

"I must have not expressed myself clearly.", the other man interrupts. He flips up a classy leather wallet in his hands, showing off an artistic and very original looking signature on an even more artistic looking card. "This is a direct order from the Syao family. The mentioned purchase has already finished as I speak."

Some people in the crowd gasp for air in surprise, the one's sitting next to the man slowly withdraw from their seats. The host flinches and looks around the auction area nervously, as if signaling for some kind of backup. He seems to make eye contact with a person in the back of the audience before he helplessly stutters, "Well, uh...if it's a customer of such high status, we, course, might as well consider your request...!"

Not long after the host finishes his sentence, the beep sound returns. "Orphan Ze Mingli, purchased by the Syao family for a total of one-hundred-fifty!"

A round of weak applause arises.

Min doesn't have a second to spare before he's lifted up by his upper arms. He inhales sharply and kicks around in the air, struggling to break free of the buff men heaving him off the floor. He's failing miserably, of course. "Hey, don't touch me! What do you think you're doing?!"

Min's desperate cries remain unheard as he's forced to approach the ridiculously clean bearded, FBI look-a-like man in the audience. The man curtly stands up from his seat and snaps his fingers. Another person appears next to him. Suddenly, Min feels something cold against the back of his neck, and his eyelids flutter involuntarily as a strange wave of drowsiness creeps his way all over his body. The last thing his vision catches is his best friend Yuan Jinhai up on stage, staring at him. 

Well, that's kind of weird, Min thinks, he's never seen that guy cry before.

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* * *

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Every year during the winter season, just before the first snowflakes fall, the Happy Field Orphanage has a tradition called the 'adoption ceremony'. In this important time period, both the younger and the older children have the opportunity to present themselves in front of a group of adults. If they're lucky, they get adopted, and if they're not, they will have to spend another year at the orphanage. However, children who don't want to leave the orphanage yet have the choice not to participate in the ceremony, too.

Every year, but not this time.

"Listen carefully, Min. There's something I want to give you." Yuan Jinhai had said only a few hours before the ceremony began. He reached a hand down his jeans to lend Ze Mingli a tiny black device that looked like an earpiece. It seemed expensive, something that couldn't be purchased easily. Min stared at the device in confusion, and before he had the chance to ask what this thing was, the other continued, "It's an ear radio. You know, like the ones you see with the foster sisters around the orphanage. I think it works similar to a walkie talkie." 

Min didn't know what to say in return, so he'd decided to inspect the device closer. "How did you-"

"I stole it." Jinhai interrupted sharply. He said it fast and pressured, like he was bothered by the fact. He covered his friend's hands with his own and gave him a melancholic smile. "I managed to get two pieces. It's just...in case we'll get separated later. One for you and one for me. It'll be the only way to contact each other from that point on, so please hold onto it tightly, okay?"

"From what point on?" Min sighed when his best friend kept quiet. He was suspicious at first, but eventually gave in. "...I don't know why you're giving me this, but you're aware that you just put yourself in some real trouble, right?"

Yuan Jinhai chuckled and the other could swear that for a moment, all of his problems seemed to have disappeared. His white teeth shined in the gray morning sunlight, his soft laugh chimed through his words like a pretty song. "Yeah...", he said, "I'm aware, so don't worry about me, Min."

* * *

A rattling car wakes Min up from his unusually deep sleep. His head throbs as he slowly opens his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. His limbs feel heavy, as if he didn't move them for ages. It takes him a second to understand that he's not in the bedroom of his dormitory where he usually finds himself in after dozing off.

"Are you finally awake?" A deep, rough voice speaks directly against his ear. Min flinches and stumbles backwards over the backseat, his arms supporting him just in time. The sudden shock snaps him back into reality, making him swiftly look left and right. 

It's the interior back of a car. The leather seat that he's sitting on is pitch-black and expensive, smooth on the touch. It's dark outside. Oh god, he might've gotten kidnapped...! Doesn't that normally only happen in movies? He has always fantasised about what he would do if he found himself in such a position someday, but seeing it actually happen, it's as if his mind goes blank.

The voice's direction comes from the other side of the window. Min hesitantly turns his head to the shadow that's leaning down on him. Because of the darkness, he can't see the face clearly, but he recognizes the voice. It's the same guy with the slicked-back hair that he saw at the auction. Suddenly, Min is really pissed off and he pushes away all his fear to hiss, "Where the hell did you bastards take me?" A faint sign of unsteadiness gives his fear away, though.

Believe it or not, Min doesn't usually swear. At least, he doesn't like to. But this is a drastic, very confusing situation. "I don't believe anyone would take me all the way out of an orphanage because they want to adopt a riping eighteen-year-old teenager."

The man lets out a hearty chuckle. Well, Min thinks it's supposed to sound hearty, but there's something swaying in it that deeply concerns him. "W-why are you laughing?", Min continues. He can't take the awkwardness. "Answer my question! Where am I?!" He hears bodies shifting behind the man, a hint that there are other people with him. But it's so dark that Min can't see anything more than vague figures. It doesn't calm his racing heart to think about how they could be gangsters who'll punch him together if he doesn't do what they want. Min takes a hard gulp.

The man opens the expensive car door for him. "Please step out of the vehicle. We have arrived at our destination, and thankfully the aphrodisiac has worn off perfectly."

Min almost chokes on his own spit. "Aphrodisiac?" 

Did he get drugged?

The other man doesn't waver. "It was a mere precaution. It does not have any dangers or side effects, so please rest assured."

The man's formalities catch Min off guard. He hesitantly makes his way out of the car. His legs feel numb when they press on pebble ground. The night air is freezing cold and the thin, dirty layer of clothing Min wears doesn't warm his skin in the slightest. He must be crazy or at least not in the right state of mind, he thinks, that he's even listening to what that man is telling him to do. "I want you to take me back. To the orphanage. Now.", Min demands with shivering teeth and hands crossed around his chest. White fog comes out of his mouth as he speaks. "D-don't think I w-will follow you a-anywhere..."

What seems similar to a large blanket is put around Mins shoulders by someone, and a pleasant wave of warmth overcomes him. Min's limbs relax a little and he feels like melting, but that nice feeling doesn't last for long. "Do you not know what position you are in, boy?" The man stares him dead in the eye. There's barely so much moon light above them to see the bright, intimidating gray colour. "As of today, you have been hired to work under the household of the Syao Family. Whether you want it or not is a completely different matter."

Min clenches his fingers around the silky fabric of the blanket. His legs shift uncomfortably and he furrows his eyebrows. "W-work under...what?"

"Sir, we have to hurry if we want to make it to the young master before midnight.", a woman in a dark suit appears next to the man and whispers in his ear. She wears the same attire as him, as if it's a required uniform. Legit FBI agents, Min thinks for himself. The man nods at her and lifts up his sunglasses while turning on his heels. "Follow me.", he signals, and Min knows it's probably directed at him, yet he doesn't move. The man seems to have expected that, as he continues, "You have approximately five men surrounding you. If you do not comply, we will have to use force. So it is not recommended."

That's it. Min knows he shouldn't laugh. He shouldn't laugh at such a threat, but he can't help it. He lifts his hands up to put them around his mouth and gurgles, "Kiss my fucking ass!"

Obviously, that wasn't such a good idea.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry...!", Min shouts in genuine panic when all of a sudden he gets lifted up by a group of strong arms. The grip around him is painfully tight, and the blanket slips onto the ground, making Min feel cold again. These guys are different from the men in the auction, their grip seems more precise and efficient. The man starts walking, and the people holding Min move behind, forcing him along. "I'm serious, please let me down!" Min kicks around with his legs, fighting them off, but it seems that he's only grabbed tighter.

They walk along the outside of a huge backyard, where several, limousine-like cars are parked. Min can hear the splashing of a fontaine in the centre of carefully cut green grass and trees. Pool water is shimmering in the moonlight, and even a golf field is visible. The backyard is the most luxurious thing Min has ever seen, and his jaw drops at the sight. He wasn't even prepared for the Mansion he sees after they pass a long brick wall, the building standing tall and grand. The gateway was reservely lit by large lights as they followed a path to the entrance.

Without having to ring the bell or use the handle or whatever else you have to do to open a door, the entrance gate opens. "Welcome back, Mr. Liao.", an elderly woman greets them as soon as they step in. She wears a neat black robe and white gloves, and her chestnut brown hair is tied to a complicated braid-bun as she bows.

"Has the young master returned, Miss Qing?", the man, who's apparently called Mr. Liao, asks her. She shakes her head and takes a glance at Min who's floating in the air, looking at the woman with big eyes. It must be an unbelievably ridiculous sight, seeing several man carrying a grown teenager, but Miss Quing seems unfazed. "I'm afraid he has yet to arrive. But please, step inside, first. The poor child is trembling!"

Slowly but steadily, Min is lowered on his feet. His whole body shakes so much that he can't even take a step forward. The woman gently rests a hand on his waist and leads him through a magnificent corridor, into a room covered in gold and silver furniture. Min is stunned seeing the walls be in a certain Victorian style and huge chandeliers hanging from the roof. It's almost as if he's standing in a palace hall. It's certainly nothing like the blank white rooms of the orphanage that sometimes needed urgent un-molding procedures.

"There, sweetheart, take a seat.", Miss Quing points at the large sofa in the centre of the room and disappears through one of the endless exits before she returns with a mantle in hand. "Wrap that around you, it will warm you up nicely. Do you want me to prepare tea? What do you prefer? Earl grey, perhaps?"

Min doesn't answer immediately and watches how Mr. Liao and his men settle in next to him as well. Mr. Liao leans with his back against the side of the couch and takes off his sunglasses. He doesn't have to wear them during nighttime, anyway, Min thinks, but it might serve as some sort of frightening disguise. "I'd...like black tea.", Min says absentmindedly to Miss Quing. He snuggles under the mantle and hums in tiredness. "But you don't really have to prepare anything for me. I won't stay here for long."

Miss Quing's lip press together into a thin line as she looks up at Mr. Liao. The other sighs in annoyance. "I thought I have explained it to you already, didn't I? This is not something you can decide."

Min narrows his eyes. "I won't work for anyone."

"Yes, you will."

"No, I won't. Get me back to the orphanage."

"Unfortunately, that is not possible. Do you even know who the Syao family is?"

Min snorts pejorative. With all that he's seen so far, it's pretty obvious. "I don't need to know that they're a bunch of rich snobs. Congratulations for having money. What do you need me to work here for, anyways? I have no qualifications. And I especially don't give a shit about some stupid status, whatever high prestige it might be." In retrospect, maybe that was the wrong thing to blurt out. The glare of the men around him got worse with every word he spoke, and now they look like they seriously want to cut him to pieces. But the most bone-chilling moment is when Mr. Liao runs a hand through his already slicked-back hair, crosses one leg over the other and says,

"Lucky for you, one does not need a qualification to work as a mistress."

The extravagant room goes completely silent at his words. One could drop a needle and it would sound a hundred times louder than usual. "Oh my, oh my...", Miss Qing exclaims with an excessive hand gesture, trying to ease the atmosphere's sharp tension, "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, gentlemen. If we say it that bluntly, I'm sure misunderstandings will-"

"What do you mean, mistress?", Min snarls and jumps out of his seat, stomping forward to Mr. Liao, ready to throw a punch. It catches the attention of the bodyguards, of course, who flinch. "I don't even know who any of you people are! I swear if anyone tries to touch me, I'm going to kill you!"

"Sir, should we-"

Mr. Liao interrupts one of his concerned men with a raise of his hands. He doesn't lose his calm, superior demeanor as he keeps eye contact with Min. "My name is Cheng Liao, main assistant of the owner of this house. I have worked here for almost twenty years and my job is to execute the direct orders I get. We have bought you through a legal auction. Your complaints are not my issue."

Min widens his eyes. Not because he's surprised or confused, but because the word "auction" ensures his horrible suspicions. "I-I was never open for...auction..." His voice is barely above a whisper. "You must be kidding me!" Just as he throws his fists forward, in the speed of lightning, Mr. Liao grabs for his arm, twists it around and slams his chest against the large glassy couch table. Everything happens so fast, neither Min nor any other person in the room can register the movement. 

And that's when the doorbell rings.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, I was only planning to write a quick smut, but seems like I actually got invested in the storyline and characters. What can I say except...oops?
> 
> This work will have multiple chapters.
> 
> Whoever you are, thank you for reading. Until we meet next time 💋


End file.
